Snowplow



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rfalrs l. VANVICK SNOWPLOW Oct. 26, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June '7, 1965 INVENTOR. MMIV/cl( United States Patent O 3,213,552 SNOWPLOW Isak Vanvck, 4843 Colfax Ave. N., Minneapolis, Minn. Filed `lune 7, 1963, Ser. No. 286,242 4 Claims. (Cl. 37-43) The present invention pertains to snowplows and more particularly to a rotary snowplow wherein the feed screw or angers are conically shaped. f

The rotary type snowplows presently on the market generally utilize feed augers having a cylindrical periphery and also utilize a cylindrical housing for the angers. As a result the cutter bar on the auger housing is positioned transverse to the direction of movement of the plow. The cutter bars are subject to bending stresses from loads or obstacles encountered and also have a tendency to catch on irregularities of the surface which extend transversely to the direction of travel of the machine, such as joints in paved surfaces.

The present snowplow, in the form as disclosed, utilizes a feed auger which is conically shaped and tapers from a minor diameter at the sides of the snowplow housing to a major diameter adjacent the center thereof. In this manner the feed screw is larger and has greater capacity at the center where more snow must be handled than at the outside. Also, the housing is made to conform closely to this feed screw shape and results in a barrel shape that gives greater rigidity and strength to the housing even when it is made with a light material. The cutter bar of the housing of the present invention is V-shaped in a manner so that upon forward movement, the cutter bar tends to move the snow toward the center of the plow and facilitates picking up the snow and transporting it to the centrally located impeller or discharge blower.

The cutter bar edge is positioned at an angle other than 90 degrees with respect to the direction of travel of the plow and this aids it in traveling over obstructions or obstacles in the path of the plow.

In addition, the housing of the present invention has a front cover or shield mounted thereon which will ride on the top of the snow being plowed and will cause the housing to act like a substantially closed chamber, creating a partial vacuum in the impeller section. This feature is especially useful when snow of low density is to be plowed since a conventional plow has a tendency to blow light, fluffy snow forwardly instead of gathering it into the impeller and discharging it. The cover or shield is also important as a safety feature to prevent people from getting entangled in the plow mechanism.

It is an object of the present invention to present a rotary snowplow having an improved snow feeding auger and housing.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a rotary snowplow made according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the device of FIG. l with the snow shield in raised position;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational View of the device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational View of the device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of the device of FIG. 2 as viewed from an end opposite from that of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional View taken as on line 6-6 in FIG. 2; and

ice

FIG. 7 is a sectional View taken as on line 7-7 in FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings and the numerals of reference thereon, a rotary snowplow illustrated generally at 10 includes a main housing 11 which is carried on a frame 12 that is in turn mounted onto a prime mover or a vehicle 13 which can be utilized for moving the plow across a supporting surface. The prime mover 13 can be of any desired type and many different types are well known in the trade.

An engine 14 is mounted on the prime mover and has an output shaft 15. A sprocket `is mounted on an output shaft 15 and drives a chain 16 which in turn drives a driven sprocket 17. The driven sprocket 17 is drivably mounted onto a shaft 20 which in turn is drivably mounted within a central snowplow auger tube 21. The auger tube 21 is mounted between a pair of end heads 22, 22 which are lixedly attached to a main housing member 23 which forms the main body of the housing 11. The end heads close the ends of the housing.

The housing 23 is comprised as two hollow frustoconical sections 24 and 25, respectively, which are joined together at the center of the plow and taper outwardly toward the end heads. The housing further includes a pair of guide or transition plates 27 and 28 which are integral with the conical sections 24 and 25 respectively, and extend at a plane tangent to the sections. The transition plates 27 and 28 extend forwardly and downwardly to the surface 31 over which the plow is working. Because of the shape of the housing, the transition pieces slant rearwardly. As the plow is moved forwardly snow at the outer ends of the housing is urged toward the center of the housing where it will be discharged by the blower.

A pair of cutter bars 32, 32 are bolted to the at transition plates 27 and 28 and lare in contact with the ground. As can be seen in FIG. 6 cutter bars 32, 32 make a V-shaped configuration. The angle between the cutter bars, indicated at 33, is a function of the height to width ratio of the cone shaped housing sections as well -as the angle of the conical taper itself. The llat plates 27 and 28 are made so that the ang-le of incline thereof with respect to the ground is the same across the width of the machine. The lower edges of the transition plates terminate on a common plane. Because of the conical shape of the housing sections the V-shape results. If the cone shaped housing sections were sharply tapered (a narrow, high plow) the vangle 33 would approach a right angle. With gently tapered housing sections the angle 33 approaches a straight line.

The V-conguration of the cutter bar aids in the feeding of snow toward the center of the housing when the rotary snowpl-ow is moving forwardly. A pair of shoes 30, 30 are mounted 'at opposite ends of the housing and extend forwardly past the front edge of the cutter bars.

A discharge chute 34 is positioned at the rear of the lhousing and is open to the interior thereof. The discharge chute 34 can have any desired discharge spout mounted thereon. Discharge spouts are conventionally known in the tart.

The housing assembly 11 mounts a snow feeding auger and blower `assembly illustrated generally at 35. The auger lassembly includes the center tube 21 which extends between the end heads 22, 22. The tube 21, 21 has the shaft 20 extending therefrom at a first end thereof and a stub shaft 36 extending therefrom at a second end thereof.

The shafts 20 and 36 are fixedly Vmounted in the tube 21 and are rotatably mounted in bearing housings 37, 37 mounted in the end heads. The au ger assembly is mounted for rotation on the :same taxis as the axes of the frustoconical housing sections.

A plurality of cone-shaped helical flights 40 are fixedly attached to the tubes. The flights 40 form a double screw feed from each side of the housing toward the center thereof. The ights Iare formed to fit within the housing and take the same shape as the housing, but are of slightly smaller size to provide for clearance.

The fiights 40, #ttl taper from their minor diameters at the outer ends thereof toward their major diameters in the center of the housing. Each of the flights 40 is attached to one of a plurality fof paddles or blades 41 fixedly mounted to tube 21 at the center thereof and positioned to form a blower which will blow snow contacting the paddles out through discharge chute 34. The paddles 41 are slightly curved in transverse dimension, as shown, and extend radially outwardly from the tube.

As shown the helical flights are comprised as a continuous rim member 42 along the periphery thereof and fa plurality of integral, inwardly extending spokes 43.

The spokes 43 are of importance in forming the helical fiights. With the spokes formed as shown, the helix will form a-round the neutral radius of the outer peripheral strip or rim member 42. When the helix has been formed the spokes can be welded to the tube 21. The helixes are arranged so that at the outer ends, where less snow is present, the flights are smaller and gradually increase in size (and consequently snow carrying capacity) toward the center blower. This makes the snowplow operate as it should and increases the handling capacity of the plow.

A shield assembly 50 is mounted over the housing assembly 23 and includes a main shield member 51 which is of substantially the same configuration as the housing 23 and is slightly larger than the housing so that it fits over the housing. The shield member 51 is of double frusto-conical shape as is the housing and has `a pair of end plates 52, 52 mounted at opposite ends thereof. The end plates 52, 52 are rotatably mounted on the outer surfaces of housings 37, 37 as shown in FIG. 6. The shield also has a front defiector plate 53 and a pair of junction plates 54, 54 one Iat each end thereof and joining the front defiector plate 53 with the end plates 52. The front deflector plate 53 has a lower or front lip 55 which acts like a shoe and causes the shield to float on top of the snow being plowed. The shield assembly 50 is free to rotate about the bearings 37, 37 from position as shown in FIG. 3, which is its raised position, to position at substantially that shown -in FIGS. l and 7. The shield member is prevented from rotating further than that shown in FIG. 7 by a pair of stops 56, 56 which are mounted on opposite ends of the housing 23 and engage the end plates 52.

The shield can be raised through a cable 57 which is attached to eye bolt 60 mounted on the shield. The cable 57 can be controlled from an operator on the prime mover 13 either through -a winch arrangement or any other desired power actuated means. By exerting a force on cable 57 the shield can be raised or lowered.

The shield serves two purposes. In its down position shown in FIGS. l and 7 the fan or blower blades have a complete enough housing so they create a partial vacuum at the opening between the shield Iand the surface 31 and thus draw light and fiuffy snow into the fan through the angers. This greatly aids in the operation of the snowplow as previous devices tended to throw the snow away or blow it away from the fan :and made this type of snow very difficult to handle. In addition, the shield yacts as a safety device. Objects, such as rocks, that are picked up by the plow cannot be thrown forwardly out of the housing to cause injury to bystanders. Also, the shield prevents people from getting their hands or other limbs into the rotor when it is being used.

With the shield in the up position as shown in FIG. 3 the plow can be rammed against snow banks to loosen very hardly packed snow, if desired. In some applications, for example when loading into a truck from windrowed snow, a shield of this type is not necessary and the unit can be operated with the shield off or else with the shield in its raised position.

Tfhe unique configuration of the cutter bars 32, 32 greatly strengthens the housing and make it unnecessary to utilize heavy bracing for the housing. In addition, the cutter bars travel at an angle with respect to transverse inperfections, such as pavement joints, and go over many of the irregularities in the pavement Vwhere an ordinary snowplow blade would catch, causing damage to the plow itself. The V-shaped taper aids in feeding the snow toward the center of the housing and the plates 27 and 2S provide a gentle enough angle so that the snow can be fed up to the auger and conveyed into the center fan. The plates urge the snow up and toward the center of the plow.

What is claimed is:

1. A rotary snowplow adapted to move over a supporting surface comprising an outer Ihousing, said housing being comprised of two housing sections, each being of frusto-conical shape with their major diameter portions joined in the center of Athe housing and their minor diameter portions at the outer ends thereof, said housing having a forwardly directed opening, a snow feeding auger of substantially the same size and shape as said housing rotatably mounted in said housing, said snow feeding auger having a blower portion in the center thereof, a pair of transition plates each tangent to one of the frusto-conical sections of said housing, and cutter bar means attached to said transition plates and extending to be in contact with the supporting surface for said snowplow and defining the lower edge of said forwardly directed opening, said transition plates and said cutter bars forming a substantially V-shaped configuration adapted to facilitate movement of snow into said blower portion in the center of .said snow feeding auger.

2. The combination as specified in claim 10 and a shield of `subsetantially the same configuration as said housing mounted over said housing, said shield being rotatably mounted -about the same axis 'as said auger, said shield extending from'la raised position wherein it substantially aligns with the upper forward edge of said housing to a second position wherein said shield moves to enclose the upper portions of said forwardly directed opening of said housing.

3. The combination as specified in claim 11 wherein said snow feeding auger is comprised as a central tube having helical, conically shaped fiights mounted thereon, said flights each being comprised as `an outer edge strip dening the periphery of each of said fiights, and a plurality of spokes on said strip and extending inwardly to be fixedly attached to said tube.

4. A rotary snowplow adapted to move over a supporting surface comprising an outer housing, means connected to said housing for moving same in a forwardly direction along said supporting surface, said housing being cornprised of two housing sections each being of frusto-conical shape with their major diameters mating in the center of the housing and their minor diameters extending to the outer ends thereof, a snow feeding auger of substantially -tihe same size and shape as said housing rotatably mounted in said housing, said snow feeding auger having a blower portion in the center thereof comprising a plurality of substantially radially extending blades, said housing having a forwardly directed opening 'and a discharge port adjacent said blower, a pair of transition plates each tangent to one of the frusto-conical sections of said housing, cutter bar means attached to said transition plates and extending to be in contact with the supporting surface for said snowplow, said transition plates and said cutter bars forming a substantially V-shaped configuration adapted to facilitate movement of snow into said blower portion in the center of said snow feeding auger, a shield of substantially the same configuration :as said housing being mounted over said housing and having end plates that are rotatably mounted to bearings that are used to mount said auger whereby said shield is adapted to pivot about the axis of said yauger and is movable from a position wherein it encloses the upper portions of lthe forwardly directed opening of said housing and the upper forward portion of said auger, to a position wherein the opening provided in said housing is unrestricted, said shield having a lower forward projecting lip extending in a substantially horizontal direction and being adapted to ride on the top of snow being plowed and open said shield when the snow being plowed exceeds a certain height.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 12/54 Great Britain.

ABRAHAM G. STONE, Primary Examiner.

15 BENJAMIN HERSH, Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent Noe 3,213,552 October 26, l965 Isak Vanvck d that error appears in the above numbered pat- It is hereby certifie id Letters Patent should read as ent requiring correction and that the sa corrected below.

Column 4, line 4l, for the Claim reference numeral "l0" read l line 4Z, for "subsetantally" read 2 substantially line 49, for The claim reference numeral "ll" read 2 Signed and sealed this 5th day of July 1966r EAlJ Auam EDWM&U)I.BRENNER Commissioner of Patents 

1. A ROTARY SNOWPLOW ADAPTED TO MOVE OVER A SUPPORTING SURFACE COMPRISING AN OUTER HOUSING, SAID HOUSING BEING COMPRISED OF TWO HOUSING SECTIONS, EACH BEING OF FRUSTO-CONICAL SHAPE WITH THEIR MAJOR DIAMETER PORTIONS JOINED IN THE CENTER OF THE HOUSING AND THEIR MINOR DIAMETER PROTIONS AT THE OUTER ENDS THEREOF, SAID HOUSING HAVING A FORWARDLY DIRECTED OPENING, A SNOW FEEDING AUGER OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME SIZE AND SHAPE AS SAID HOUSING ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING, SAID SNOW FEEDING AUGER HAVING BLOWER PORTION IN THE CENTER THEREOF, A PAIR OF TRANSITION PLATES EACH TANGENT TO ONE OF THE FRUSTO-CONICAL SECTIONS OF SAID HOUSING, AND CUTTER BAR MEANS ATTACHED TO SAID TRANSITION PLATES AND EXTENDING TO BE IN CONTACT WITH THE SUPPORTING SURFACE FOR SAID SNOWPLOW AND DEFINING THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID FORWARDLY DIRECTED OPENING, SAID TRANSITION PLATES AND SAID CUTTER BARS FORMING A SUBSTANTIALLY V-SHAPED CONFIGURATION ADAPTED TO FACILITATE MOVEMENT OF SNOW INTO SAID BLOWER PORTION IN THE CENTER OF SAID SNOW AUGER. 